Lonesome twosomeness is better than twosome loneliness.
It was a cold, star lit night, somewhere in the vast lands of the Earth Kingdom. Four individual breaths (those of accompanying creatures not counted) were heard, only as audible as the soft night wind that made the trees whisper. While three breaths continued to echo regularly through the darkness, it was one that came in uneasy puffs as its owner got up from where it had been lying along its companions.
Almost inaudible, footsteps emerged from the silence and tapped away from the others. Off the clearing, onto a little hill, from where the lands spread into blackness and utter nothingness. A deep sigh mixed with the cry of a nearby owl, as Katara sat down on a stump and gazed upon the land until her eyes couldn't make out tree from mountain.
She pulled up her knees and clutched her arms, shaking off the cold that gripped her limbs. But the cold was stronger and soon found her heart. A stab – worse than from a knife – made her whole body shake, greeting the tears that were burning inside her eyes. Unable to control the sudden sobs, she just let them go – and so the tears streamed over her cheeks, running along her jaw line until they fell, silently, onto her arms.
"Katara?"
A sudden voice made her jump. She was so startled that she ignored the familiarity of its sound and tried hectically to wipe away her tears, hiding what was brewing inside her.
"Katara?"
The voice came closer and soon enough, she saw a shadow emerge the nearest tree. She heaved a sigh as she recognized her brother.
"You really shouldn't wander off in the middle of the night, you know?" he said and sat down beside his sister, looking tiredly at her.
"I know, Sokka," she replied quietly and tried to avoid his gaze as she looked back down the hill onto the dark grounds.
"What are you doing here?" he continued, following her gaze.
"Looking at the world," she whispered.
"But it's dark," he mused. "I can't even see the world," he added and squinted his eyes a little.
"But it's there. Out there," Katara said and waved a hand at the darkness in front of them. "Everywhere. It's so vast… it scares me sometimes."
Her voice broke in the middle of her sentence, making her last words sound like a ghostly echo. Lowering her gaze, she hugged her knees tighter and tried to blink away new tears that began burning in her eyes again. Absorbed by the cold gripping her insides, she almost didn't notice the arm being pulled around her.
Sobbing slightly, she turned her head towards her brother and cast him a tiny smile which he replied broadly. He pulled her gently towards him and rested his head upon hers.
"It scares me too, Katara," he then whispered. "I've seen vast oceans and endless ice and eternal snow, but this… sometimes it's too much."
"It is," she replied, leaning against his chest. "I miss the ice. Don't you?"
"I do."
"If we ever going to see it again?"
"I bet," he said and pulled his other arm around her. "Besides, there is so much to discover. It's worth it, Katara, I can tell. Even though the circumstances could have been a little less… warsome, you know, it's an amazing opportunity to see the world."
"Warsome? Is that even a word?" She chuckled slightly, feeling her tears dry slowly.
"Yeah, right, you know what I mean," he said and leant his head back a little.
"Warlike," she corrected. "But I know what you mean. It is a great opportunity. Even though –"
"Yeah?"
"Whenever I look at… the world around us, all those new places, new cultures, new creatures, all those things I couldn't even dream of, sometimes… it's just… frightening and I don't know if I can do this any longer. Not to know where we're heading next and what might happen to us and who will attack us and … it's… it makes me feel particularly lonely. It makes me appreciate the simple life I have left behind… and it makes me regret that I ever decided to leave home."
"You regret it?" Sokka asked and nestled against his sister. Even though he sounded dead asleep, his eyes were wide open as he was staring into the star lit sky.
"Only a little. I mean, I know that we have to help Aang and I don't see that as a burden, I really like to be around him. I like to travel around with him and with you and even with Toph. But –"
"Now comes the big but," Sokka muttered, still looking into the sky, a small grin creeping around his lips. "He he, big butt…"
"Sokka! Could you be serious for once?" Katara hissed back, turning her head to stare at him.
He looked down again and met his sister's stare. He simply tilted his head and watched her. "Go on."
Katara raised an eyebrow and looked away again. "No."
"No? Okay, I'm sorry, Katara, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I'm an –"
"Idiot," she agreed and turned her head back to him, smiling slightly. "I know you are."
"So, what were you saying?" he asked, leaning against her as she looked away into the night. "You like to travel with us, but?"
"But… we're only kids, right? And we're all alone in this wide world… sure, we're with the Avatar, but heck, he's a kid himself. I feel… laden…"
"And… with that you don't mean your brother leaning against you, right?" Sokka asked, literally hanging over his sister, with his arms pulled around her like a monkey sitting on a rock.
"You're a goofball, you know that?" Katara giggled, unable to ignore her brother's jokes for once (or for ever).
"Yeah, I know. I've heard rumors…"
He leant back a little and let go of Katara to stretch his arms, before he suddenly turned back to her, his nose only inches away from her cheek. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he raised a hand and cupped her face to turn it around to him, before they were facing each other, their blue eyes almost colorless in the dark. Sokka broke the peaceful moment by abruptly moving forwards and rubbing his nose against Katara's.
Unable to keep a straight face, Katara pushed her brother away, laughing quietly. Sokka, however, tilted his head and looked at his fingers.
"You've been crying," he said quietly, silencing his sister immediately.
She quickly looked away from him, needlessly wiping her sleeve over her face.
"Don't hide it, it's okay." His voice was unusually set, yet soft, as he moved closer to her again, his hands remaining folded on his lap as he stared down at his feet.
She sobbed and swallowed. "I don't want to be weak," she then whispered, staring up into the sky.
"You're not weak," he replied and followed her gaze up, until his eyes found the almost invisible, crescent-shaped silhouette of the moon.
Katara turned her head towards him and saw him silently gaping at the moon, knowing what he must be thinking. Even though it seemed like a long time, they had left the North Pole only weeks ago. Wounds usually needed longer to heal.
"You're not weak either," she murmured and hugged him tightly.
She felt him swallowing, before he returned the embrace, his head still raised, his eyes still fixed on the sky and its immortal habitant.
"We have to move on," she continued after a while of silence. "Don't we?"
"I guess so," he replied, his voice unusually grave.
"I know it doesn't mean that much coming from me… who's crying over the vastness of the world… but… we can do it, Sokka. We can move on and we will. We have to be strong now."
He hugged her even tighter and finally lowered his gaze, burying his face in her hair. Silence lasted over them once more, before Katara felt his grip loosening. Then his quiet snores filled the air.
"Sokka!", she hissed, shaking him lightly.
He inhaled deeply and leant back, slowly letting go of his sister. Their eyes met in silent agreement as they both stood up from the stump. Stretching his limbs, Sokka threw one last glance at the disappearing crescent, before he quickly looked away again, suddenly noticing Katara watching him.
She smiled up at him, waiting for him to reply the gesture. He did, before his smile stretched into a big yawn.
"We should get back to sleep," Katara commented his outburst. "There's a new journey waiting for us tomorrow."
Sokka nodded and held out his hand for his sister to take it. Katara threw a short glance over her shoulder at the vast lands of the Earth Kingdom, knowing that – whenever she felt lonely again – there was always someone to cheer her up again. Someone who felt the same. Someone who understood.
"Sokka?" she asked as they slowly walked back towards the clearing where Aang and Toph were still sleeping tightly.
"Hmm?"
"I'm glad you're with me," she whispered and quickly tiptoed in front of him to kiss his cheek.
With her feet back on the ground, she smiled into the darkness. Katara knew, even though Sokka would never admit it (as he was now wiping his cheek thoughtfully), that her brother felt the same way.
A/N: One Shot completed. My first try ever on Avatar.
I felt the need to write this down after I read quite a few disturbing Sokka + Katara fics. So my try on two innocent siblings - because that's what they are, and nothing more.
I might add that this is set somewhere after The Chase.
Sokka, Katara and Avatar (c) Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko.
I'd love to hear your opinions! So please review and maybe I'll expand this little story.